This isn't looking good, and it's absolutely ridiculous. This bill would overburden the foster care system in Arkansas, which already only has foster homes for about 1/3 children in that state. And it doesn't just take rights away from same-sex couples, but opposite-sex couples that aren't, for whatever reason, married.

It's awful, and it shouldn't win.

Alex - 9:58

Now with 4% reporting, it's up 57-43. Brutal.

Alex - 9:10

With almost no precincts reporting in Arkansas, the ban on unmarried couples adopting and foster parenting (which would include all the same-sex couples, of course) is down 58-42. Epic!

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There is an insidious reason why states don't feel motivated to place their oversupply of foster children in good homes. A few years ago, I did an article on this subject for A & U Magazine. The Children's Services system is corrupted by the fact that it gets funded by federal money, and each state gets money "per head," for each individual child in the system. It works like the ADA in education, where each school gets federal money for each day that a child is in school...which motivates schools to minimize truancy as much as they can.

So Children's Services serves itself by seizing as many children as possible...which is why you read stories about children that are taken from their parents for seemingly specious and ridiculous reasons. The goal is numbers. The more children they have, the more federal money there is. It's really that simple.

So...does the state of Arkansas care one bit about placing foster children? Not one bit. Do they care that group homes are often overcrowded and rife with child abuse? Of course not. Neither does any other state.

In fact, making it an issue of "not wanting those bad gay people to adopt" is just a smokescreen for the real issue, which is...they're protecting their funding stream.

What is wrong with the people in the state of Arkansas? I can not believe that you would pass such a law. Think of all those children in the foster care system who might have actually had the oppurtunity to go to a home where they would be cared for and loved. Who cares if that is a home where there is a same sex couple. Same sex couples are just capable of providing a loving home to a child as a heterosexual couple. Not only that but the ban also prohibits heterosexual couples who aren't married from adopting or fostering children as well. Glad to see that the state of Arkansas clearly does not care about the children in the foster system and it is good to know that they would deny those children the right to go to a good home because of their ignorance and fear!!!!!

My parents divorced several years ago and while they have reconciled, they never remarried. If something were to happen to my sister, where would her two children go? According to Act 1, my parents, co-habitating as they are outside of a "valid" marriage, would be barred from adopting them.

It's either into the system or off with their (different) dead-beat dads? I shudder at the thought.

Please know that not everyone living in Arkansas was for Act 1. Plenty of residents, including myself, are outraged that this Act passed. Arkansas Families First and other groups are working to have this Act repealed.

Please know that not everyone living in Arkansas was for Act 1. Plenty of residents, including myself, are outraged that this Act passed. Arkansas Families First and other groups are working to have this Act repealed.